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Actual Best in Show, IMO. The Vinnie Rossi / Spatial Audio room. Vinnie of course always knocks it out of the park. And I've always like Spatial speakers in the past. But the combo of these 2 was something special. True synergy and easily the best sound at RMAF this year, IMO
Your room sounded awesome. I would have put it in my half-assed show coverage in the RMAF circle, but for 3 reasons - first I stupidly did not take a pic while I was there. Second, Jason and I had already posted ecstatically about the Rossi/Harbeth room last year. Third, the Rossi/Spatial room kind of took the spotlight for us this year. But I'll say this - when we were there it was so packed that we had to take the crappy seats all the way on the left side of the room. Up against the wall, actually. And from the shittiest seat in the room it STILL sounded amazing. I actually turned to Jason in amazement and said something along the lines of "How they hell do they DO this? Every year it's amazing. Vinnie should get some kind of lifetime achievement award for best rooms at RMAF." So yeah, we liked the room
I’m very intrigued by the fact that nobody posts lukewarm impressions about Vinnie’s products. All comments range from ‘very positive’ to ‘ecstatic’. Congratulations, Vinnie!
Now, about the two rooms, all other things being more or less equal (i.e. referring to amplification), I wonder how would the sound of the two speaker see sets compare: Spatial vs Harbeth...?Thanks in advance for any feedback.
...I started exhibiting at trade shows in 2005... I've made my mistakes. I tried my best to learn from them.If my passion comes through by the way the music is presented at these hotel shows and it makes a strong connection with the ears of (hopefully many) show attendees, then to me the show was well worth my time, effort, and expense and I cannot ask for more.
...IMO, at least 50% of what you are hearing is the room that the system is placed in...
... I can later share with you some my personal impressions of how the Spatials that I am very familiar with (X1, and M3TM) compare to Harbeths of similar MSRP...Vinnie
Vinnie Rossi and HarbethVinnie Rossi showing off his Lio and Harbeth speakers. I liked the sound a lot, it was much more like the system he showed in 2015 with the 40.2s... I did not like the Harbeths shown last year, too dark for me, but I can see the appeal. So these are 30.2s, the same as the 40.2s just without the 12" woofers. The performance from these small 2-way monitors is extraordinary, I don't know how they can do it... it does a great job of imaging, they portray clearly and separately every instrument or voice in the soundstage in a way very few speakers can regardless of price, and they can do this with recordings most systems make into a muddy mess. I've heard TAD pull of something similar in a $300k system... this is <$20k for the Lio and 30.2s. If I was looking for a monitor type speaker this would be at the top of my list and a complete integrated like the Lio is perfect for a speaker system like this too. It's like a "lifestyle" system that's far better than any other I've heard including Diavalet Phantom and Kii 3s that cost a lot more.For those looking for a smaller system... you can even call it a lifestyle system with the Lio doing just about everything... this blows away the Diavalet Phantom, Kii 3, and pretty much every other system of the type I've heard. It does some things as well as cost-no-object systems. Seriously impressive. I remember Vinnie getting a lot of accolades and awards for RMAF 2015 with the Harbeth 40.2s, this is basically the same without the 12" woofers and it probably works even better for show conditions vs the 40.2s.
Lovely rooms, Vinnie, congrats. The Harbeth's are on Ton Trager stands and the stands seem to be on a raised base. Is the base part of the stands? What other stands have you used in shows and which do you prefer?Cheers,Lester
Vinnie Rossi / Harbeth / Acoustic SignatureI did like the sound of this room hosted by Vinnie Rossi playing his LIO “Super Integrated” MOSFET amplifier with a 32-bit / 768kHz DAC section and phono stage at $13,995. The British made 40th Anniversary Edition Harbeth M30.2 at $6,495 for the pair, (stands by Ton Troger at $1,395/pair) and finally the German-made Acoustic Signature Manfred Mk2 turntable with tonearm, $4,999.Not a surprise to note how nice this sounded. Just enough bottom end and a rich middle and upper range.
Spatial Audio has been getting quite a bit of buzz in the audio world lately. And for good reason. We had a member of our local audio club play his Spatial M3’s at one of our meetings and I didn’t hear one negative comment from the group and in actual fact everybody loved what they heard of them. Well these are Spatial’s new top line X2 Modular Speakers ($9,620). These speakers were being driven by a gorgeous sounding 25 wpc integrated, the Vinnie Rossi LiO “Super Integrated” ($12,995 as configured, DAC 2.0 installed).The sound was eminently coherent, providing superior musicality with extreme ease. This would be the type of simple system I could live with for a long, long time. A job well done!
Vinnie - congrats on the LIO! It consistently gets stellar reviews and comments! A question for you: since you have used both the Super HL5 Plus and the 30.2 in your demos this year and they are both newer speakers (30.2 is brand new to market), which did you like better or what were the differences sound wise?
Hi mr_bill,Thank you!I am very familiar with ALL of the Harbeth speakers and how they sound with LIO. In order to not divert this show coverage thread, feel free to email me and I'll be happy to help answer your questions.Vinnie
Congrats, Vinnie!!! Well deserved (as always)! Cheers, Pete
Vinnie,based on your experience, what is the optimal distance of the Spatials from the listening position? And similarly, what is the optimal distance for the Harbeths?Do you find either of the speakers easier to drive with the LIO? And I am not referring of course to driving the speakers to very loud volumes.
A number of people told me "You have to go to Vinnie's room!", so I did (I would have anyway). My notes read (without the edits), "Sounds fu*@ing amazing!"11. I was born and raised in NJ where fu*@ can be used as a Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb, Pronoun, Preposition, Conjunction, Determiner, or Exclamation, among others.
...exactly the kind of sound I prefer when I'm home alone with my records. Rich and easy flowing, with superb tone character. Recordings via the Rossi/Harbeth system sounded exceptionally natural.The Harbeths were set up perfectly: splayed diagonally between the room's long and short walls. This "askew" arrangement positioned listeners in the extreme nearfield, with the speakers at radically different distances from room boundaries. Tonal balance and vocal-instrumental impact seemed just right.
The LIO ($13,995 USD as configured in Denver) is truly one of the most compact, supremely musical all-in-one audiophile solutions for a two-channel system I have ever come across....careful amp/source matching is key for best results, and the sound in this room was utterly captivating. This is listening to forget about hifi, and just lose yourself in the music.
VinnieIf you are looking for adjustable speaker stands look at Reference 3A and also the ones Diapason makes for the Adamante and their other monitors.http://www.reference3a.com/stands.html
...an ear-opening experience.
Clayton's room was one of those where I just wanted to relax, kick back, and listen to music. I heard startling dynamics, rich harmonics, deep bass without overhang or bloat, nice instrument separation, and a huge wide and deep soundstage allowing the speakers to completely disappear. Vocals were focused and the correct height, the stage started about 3' behind the plane of the X-2s, upright bass was tight and real, sax had the perfect bite, and voices showed live like dynamic shadings. Drum kit had great impact and realism, orchestral music showed off the soundstage to be wide and layered deep, with beautiful string tone. If I didn't have to cover the show, I would have spent a lot more time here, just enjoying the music.
The design elements are straightforward and modern, sure to be a talking point at your next get-together. The sound at RMAF was smooth and engaging, like proper hifi should be. It will be interesting to see what Clayton dreams up next, given the fullness of the his current offerings.
